Happy Birthday and Go Deacs!

The theme of September has been Birthdays and Football! We have done a lot of celebrating and cheering. We celebrated three very special birthdays this past week: a joint dinner last Wednesday for Dad/Grandpa's 69th and Great Gma's 87th birthdays, and then a relaxing Sunday in Star for my mother-in-law/Granny's birthday. It is so fun to have September birthdays on both sides of the family. With the month falling in between summer and the fall holidays, it is a good excuse to get together with all the ones we love. 

As for football, Emmy and I went to my school's staff tailgate on Friday before the East Surry vs. Rasgdale football game. Boomer had his own football game to go to (Forbush vs. Carver), so even though we were apart, all the Kennedys were enjoying the Friday night lights. Emmy and I didn't actually stay for the game, but I had fun introducing her to all of my coworkers and posing on the golf cart.

On Saturday, Emmy went to her first Wake Forest football game. Earlier in the week, Boomer's friend Jason offered us [free!] tickets to tag along with him and his girlfriend, Tiffany. Of course we couldn't turn that down! Tiffany is a professor in the Linguistics Department at Wake, so in addition to the free tickets, we also joined in for the faculty tailgate beforehand. We chowed down on barbecue and other fixings, while Emmy munched on raisins and veggie sticks - true tailgate food! It was a big game for Wake as they played No. 8 Notre Dame. Sadly the outcome was not in the Deac's favor, but we sure had fun. Saturday was the official First Day of Fall, but it was pretty warm (in the 90s), and it was hard to stay cool. Emmy found a shady spot at our feet and played with the toys I had packed and with the small towels that were passed out at the gate. She was a trooper! Quite contrary to the Kennedy way, we left the game early during the 3rd Quarter. We were drenched in sweat and the game didn't seem to be looking up. Overall though, it was a fun family experience. Daddy even taught Emmy how to say "Go Deacs!"





After the game, Emmy's nap was delayed, but she was soon fast asleep in her car seat. We were able to transfer her to her crib when we got home where, as you can see, she scooted to the end so that her legs could dangle between the rungs. This seems to be her preferred sleeping position right now. Silly girl!

Emmy's class at school has been doing a lot of learning. On Friday, her folder was full of drawings and other artwork. They have been learning colors, shapes, letters, and textures. I am amazed at how her teachers wrangle 12+ toddlers to produce anything worthwhile! She currently has three teachers that have different shifts throughout the day. Miss Jewell is still the first one Emmy sees each morning and the one that Emmy has bonded with the most. The other two teachers are Miss Melissa and Miss Alysse, and they are awesome, too. Overall, we have had a very smooth start to the school year. She still loves seeing Mommy or Daddy at the end of the day, but she is otherwise very content playing with her classmates and being at 'school.' When we pick her up, she looks very happy, even though she usually has a head full of stringy, sweaty curls and smudges on her clothes and face. If her general state of dishevelment is a sign of how much fun she has had during the day, then I would say she is having a blast! 



A few other fun things about Emmy right now: 

- She loves organizing. (Hmmm, I wonder where she got that from!) Emmy spent a lot of time at the football game laying out the small towels and folding them into squares. 

- In addition to her lamb Bobby, her other favorite toys are her small baby, her musical teddy bear, and paper towels or tissues. She also likes to play with the small potty that we set-up in the downstairs bathroom.

- She is really picking up on our routines. She will say "Daddy!" or "home!" when we go over the bump turning into our driveway. She also lays her blanket over the side of the crib after naptime and in the morning, just like she sees Mommy do.

- Emmy loves music. She will often sing and hum simple tunes, most commonly the "ABCs." She will cut you off with an emphatic "Noooooo!" if you try to sing along. 

- Mealtime is a bit unpredictable. She still seems to have an aversion to meat, but she likes most vegetables and fruits. While bananas used to be a staple in her diet, she is going through a banana strike right now, which has been a little frustrating. Bananas were such an easy on-the-go snack or pre-meal appetizer, so I am trying to find a similar replacement. No luck yet!

- Emmy often will play 'make believe' and I love seeing how her brain works. She will mimic setting the table, putting out coasters and then placing her stuffed animals in each seat. She also will walk around in my or Daddy's shoes or makes sounds as if she is reading one of her books. 

- She says "peek-a-boo" as "ah-boo", usually as she is peeking in while Mommy is showering.

- She has started to close her eyes when we pray before meals and at bedtime. She will squeeze them so tight, usually while smiling and giggling. When we say 'Amen!' she will throw her hands up in the air.

- Just yesterday, I packed away the 18 month clothes; Emmy is now in 24 months and 2T clothing. She is still in size 4 diapers and wears a size 5 shoe.

It is hard to believe that our little girl is only a month shy of turning 2!



Rain, Rain, Go Away

We have had A LOT of rain over the past few days. Last week, we began seeing reports of a massive hurricane heading towards the Carolina coast. Hurricane Florence seemed to be all over the news and social media. Not knowing what to expect in central NC, I took extra precautions; I made a trip to the store for water, secured our outdoor patio furniture, and filled up on gas. Then, we hunkered down over the weekend to wait out the storm. 

Our hurricane essentials: bananas and fudge bars!

Aside from three straight days of rain, we escaped the storm with relative ease. We didn't even lose power, praise the Lord! However, the pictures from the coast show a lot of devastation. Boomer's brother, Kyle, who lives in Wilmington, stayed there despite the call to evacuate. Because of his job at the hospital, he had to stay and was locked-in since 5PM on Wednesday; he was finally released on Monday afternoon. Luckily his house had very little damage, but the surrounding area had a lot of flooding and is still without power. It is heartbreaking to see the images and to know how the people there are suffering. 

With all the rain, we have spent most of our time this week indoors, which is certainly a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. Emmy has had fun playing with her toys and has even found some creative uses for them, like wearing her stacking rings as high heels. I love watching her creativity as she plays make believe. I've noticed too that she has some funny quirks, like nuzzling her Bobby, spinning in circles to her musical teddy bear, and sleeping with her feet between the rungs of her crib. With the rainy weather, she and Daddy have spent time watching sports together in his recliner. Football season is in full swing, and it seems that there is a game to watch almost every night of the week!

On Friday evening, we got together with the Houstons and Williamses for a pizza night. Since we were stuck inside again, the kiddos had fun chasing each other around the loop of the downstairs, and Emmy tried on her cousins' construction hat and goggles. It is always fun to get together with this group because of the matching up of the boys and girls. Not only do the kids get along great, but the adults do, too! And while we love including the children, we adults are looking forward to our kid-free cruise next June. The six of us are all booked to celebrate Josh's 40th birthday in the Bahamas!

 

On Saturday, we met up with Matt, Kelly, Wyatt, Adelia, and Kelly's parents at the Kernersville Chick-fil-A for another indoor activity. After having lunch, the three kids played together in the play place, which was quite busy due to the rain. Wyatt, Adelia, and Emmy are all different ages and stages right now, but they played together very well. Wyatt was so sweet to the smaller girls, and they all seemed ready for a nap afterwards. 

I'm not sure if the rain is to blame, but both Emmy and Boomer have come down with colds. They stayed home together yesterday, and then today Emmy spent the day with Grammy and Grandpa. We are hoping that the extra day will help get her back to full health to return to daycare. It just seems to be a runny nose and a cough, but hopefully the extra rest (and attention!) will be just the right medicine. The skies cleared today, so Grammy and Emmy were able to go for a walk - yay! Emmy loves walks, and I know she has missed being outside. 

Well, just to sneak in one photo of Mommy, here is a car selfie! Hoping for more walks and sunshine with less rain in the week ahead!

Field Trips and Football

After the Labor Day holiday, it was nice to have a short work week. Things have been going well at work. One of my big tasks right now is prepping for a field trip for our 11th and 12th graders. The field trip is tomorrow, and we are taking the majority of our junior and senior class to the local community college for their annual college fair. It is the same type of college fair that I would go to when I was working at UNCG. Instead of standing behind the table handing out brochures like I did in the past, I will be corralling 160+ students onto buses and supervising them as they browse the college tables. It is a bit of a role reversal from what I was doing just two years ago. My ESHS coworkers have been great to help with driving buses, chaperoning students, and covering classes. Hopefully everything will go smoothly tomorrow!

We've been enjoying the warm September evenings with walks around the neighborhood and playtime in the bath. Boomer isn't always home for these things, but he sure makes them more fun when he is, as you can see by Emmy's hair-do! Mommy is more business, but Daddy always keeps us laughing. One evening last week, Boomer had a night off from Forbush sports and decided to knock out the weekend chore of cutting the grass. Emmy loved watching him through the window; she was mesmerized as he went back and forth on the mower. On Friday, he had to work late for a football game, so Emmy and I met our friends Stephanie and Lyla for a play date at the park. It's fun to see how Emmy and Lyla have started playing more together as they are getting older. I forgot to take pictures once our friends arrived, but I did capture a shot of Emmy at the top of the slide, smiling and looking out over the world.  

On Saturday, Mom, Emmy, and I made the trip to Morganton to celebrate Baby LeBaron. Emily and Daniel are expecting a boy on November 10th (Emmy's birthday!), and all the Garland Girls and our mamas hosted a shower to help the new parents prepare for baby boy's arrival. The shower had a book theme in honor of Emily's love of books and since she is a high-school English teacher. One of my favorite times of each day is when Emmy and I are reading together before bedtime; I know this will be a special time for Emily and her baby too. Funny enough, this is the third year in a row that we have gathered together in Morganton during this very same weekend: a baby shower for me in 2016 and then a 'sip-and-see' for Hadley and Adelia last year. It was a beautiful day, and Mom and I enjoyed the time in the car together traveling to and from Morganton. Emmy was quite worn out after all the shower fun and slept all the way home; she was asleep before we even got on the interstate!

We are starting to experience the first of fall weather, mostly because of a cold front and rain from an approaching hurricane. The weekend was still pretty warm, but then Sunday afternoon was a bit chilly, perfect timing with my regular Sunday nap. While I'm not completely ready to trade in my shorts and flip-flops for jeans and blankets, it was nice being cuddled inside for the evening to watch the start of the football season. Boomer is once again playing fantasy football, so I have secondhand anxiety as we watch each game on Sunday and Monday. Let's hope it is a winning season for [all 5 of] Boomer's teams!